The invention relates to a carrier for medical facilities which is intended for installation in a medical treatment room and provided with a pedestal for supporting the medical facilities, wherein the pedestal is displaceable relative to the floor of the treatment room on at least one rail, and wherein the rail forms part of a first space which is separated from the medical treatment room by first cover means.
A carrier of this kind is known from the published German patent application No. 36 15 633 A1. The carrier disclosed therein constitutes an X-ray examination apparatus which is displaceable on a rail in the floor of the medical treatment room by way of rollers provided underneath a pedestal of the carrier. The rail is accommodated in a space in the floor, which space is covered by cover means in the form of a flexible belt which rests on the open upper side of the space. When the carrier is displaced, the belt is lifted off the floor by a mechanism which is arranged in the pedestal and in front of the rollers, after which the belt is guided along the upper side of the rollers and is lowered onto the open upper side of the space again behind the rollers. The space for the rail is thus separated from the medical treatment room, so that pollutants in front of and behind the pedestal cannot readily penetrate the space for the rail and the attendant staff in the treatment room nevertheless experiences only little nuisance from the presence of the rail and the spaces in which it is accommodated.
This known carrier, however, still has the drawback that pollutants can still penetrate the space for the rail, notably via the clearance between the rollers which is not covered by the belt since it is lifted at that area. Because of the severe requirements imposed on the cleanliness of a medical treatment room, therefore, this space must be intensively cleaned at regular intervals.
There may also be situations requiring a carrier for medical facilities which has a comparatively large range of displacement. Such a situation occurs, for example in the case of a patient table used for interventional MRI. During such an intervention a patient arranged on the table is treated and an MRI image must be formed during the execution of the treatment. The MRI apparatus is then installed in a neighboring MRI room which can be separated from the relevant medical treatment room by way of special doors. In order to transport the patient from the patient table in the medical treatment room to the table associated with the MRI apparatus, the patient table must have a comparatively large range of displacement. The rigidity and stability of the patient table must be retained during such displacement, thus necessitating a comparatively rigid pedestal having a large width in the displacement direction.
It is an object of the invention to provide a carrier of the kind set forth for which a comparatively large range of displacement is realized, the desired rigidity and stability are maintained, the displacement mechanism does not form an obstacle on the floor of the medical treatment, and easy cleaning of the carrier is achieved.
This object is achieved in that the carrier according to the invention is characterized in that
the first space is connected with a second space which is covered by second cover means,
which first and second space are separated from one another by a partition in which said connection is realized by an opening wherethrough a guide member for guiding the displacement of the pedestal is slidable.
The first space, provided in the floor of the treatment room, can now be used for accommodating one or more rails on which the pedestal of the carrier is displaced. This first space is adjoined by a second space which is also provided in the floor of the treatment chamber in such a manner that the second cover means are flush with the floor of the treatment room. All further components necessary for guiding the displacement of the carrier, for guiding cables, for position sensing and the like are accommodated in said second space. A guide member for guiding the displacement of the pedestal projects through the partition and hence forms a mechanical connection between the displaceable pedestal of the carrier and the second space. As a result, the guide member which is rigidly connected to the pedestal may be of comparatively large length, so that the rigidity and the stability of the pedestal, and hence of the entire carrier, can be realized by way of a comparatively small force applied at the area of the end of the guide member.
The assembly formed by the patient table and the displacement mechanism is constructed in such a manner that the first space which accommodates one or more rails does not contain other components of the displacement mechanism, so that in operating conditions this space accommodates only the guide member, being connected to the pedestal, when the patient table is in a fully or partly displaced position. The cover means of this first space, therefore, must always be provided with an opening for the passage of the link between the pedestal and the guide member, so that via this opening the space situated therebelow could be polluted from the medical treatment room. Because the first space does not accommodate any other components of the displacement mechanism, however, it can be readily cleaned.
The invention offers the additional advantage that the accessibility of the patient table is maintained, despite the facilities providing a large displacement range while maintaining the rigidity and stability. This means that the freedom of movement of attendant staff working at the patient table according to the invention is not restricted by the facilities according to the invention.
It is to be noted that in the context of the present invention the term xe2x80x9cmedical treatmentxe2x80x9d is to be understood to include also a medical examination which is performed without performing a direct therapeutic activity.
The opening in the partition in a preferred embodiment of the invention is provided with sealing means for sealing against pollutants wandering from one of the spaces to the other space. In given operating conditions it may be sufficient to have a partition with an opening which encloses the guide member comparatively tightly. This configuration already offers adequate prevention of the transfer of pollutants from one of the spaces to the other. However, it may be that this partition between the two spaces is not adequate for the described purpose. In that case a collar of an elastic material can be provided in the partition, for example a collar which tightly envelops the guide member and prevents the transfer of contaminations. Moreover, contamination of the first space from the second space (accommodating further components of the displacement mechanism) is thus also prevented.
The guide member in a further embodiment of the invention is constructed as a rod having a circular cross-section. This shape of the guide member makes it easy to purchase it in a commercially available form and to finish it accurately, thus enabling a tight fit with the sealing; the accurately finished and hence smooth surface ensures that any wear will not be extensive.
The first space in a further embodiment is provided with two parallel rails. When these rails are mounted parallel to the longitudinal direction of the guide member, this step considerably enhances the transverse stability (i.e. the rigidity against motions in a direction transversely of the longitudinal direction of the guide member).
The two parallel rails in a further embodiment of the invention form part of respective walls of the first space. As a result, the interior of the first space will contain even fewer obstacles which could impede cleaning, so that this space can be realized in a comparatively simple manner.
The first and the second cover means in another embodiment of the invention are formed by a first and a second detachable lid, respectively. The lids of this embodiment can be manufactured in such a manner that the first lid can be readily removed by hand; this is advantageous with a view to cleaning at regular intervals. Because the second space is not contaminated from the first space, it need be opened only for maintenance and repair activities performed on the components of the displacement mechanism accommodated therein. This lid can then be constructed in the form of a lid which consists of one piece and is screwed onto the second space with a tight fit, for example via a rubber rim, so that it need be removed only by maintenance personnel assigned to this task.
The first detachable lid in another embodiment of the invention is provided with a slot for the passage of a connection piece between the guide member and the pedestal. The connection between the guide member and the pedestal is used not only to create stability, rigidity and accuracy of movement of the patient table, but also for guiding the electrical connection cables between the movable table and the environment. These cables can then be arranged in a bundle in fixed positions relative to one another, so that this bundle has a small width in the direction transversely of the direction of movement of the table. The bundle can then be arranged in the connection piece between the pedestal and the guide member; in that case this connection piece may also have a small width, so that the slot for the passage of the connection piece may be comparatively narrow.